Brief for men and boys



M K. E. SENSER BRIEF FOR MEN AND BOYS jam Filed July 8, 196'? Jam WW 1%. E. sENsm BRIEF FOR MEN AND BOYS 2 Sheetw-Sheat 2 Filed July 3, 1967 I I v25 HI l;

United States Patent 3,487,833 BRIEF FOR MEN AND BOYS Karl E. Seuser, Riverside, Ill., assignor to Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of New York Filed July 3, 1967, Ser. No. 650,833 Int. Cl. A61f /40; A41b 9/02 US. Cl. 128-159 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE My invention relates to mens and boys underwear, and has to do more particularly with an item worn below the waist and known as a brief, comprising snugly fitting abbreviated drawers.

Background of invention Articles of this general character are well known and have been produced and worn for many years. They are usually worn by younger men who desire in an article of this type not only the function of protecting the outer clothing, as in any article of underwear, but, additionally, some degree of support for the genitalia.

In articles of this character as previously known, the latter function has been accomplished, if at all, to only a minor extent, primarily because of improper design.

A necessary structural feature of any article in the nature of drawers for men and boys is that access must be provided to permit urination without the necessity of taking down the garment from the waist. Hence, an opening in the front of the garment is required.

In the past it has been customary to provide overlapping fiaps with a vertical or diagonal slit therebetween.

Summary of the invention A prime object of the present invention is to provide a brief so constructed that it will provide improved support for the male genitalia as well as adequate protection for the outer clothing.

This objective is accomplished by what is believed to be a novel design or construction providing overlapping flaps in the lower front portion of the garment, said flaps providing a horizontal slit for access and including a reinforced yieldable panel which gives materially increased support as compared to prior art constructions.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a brief construction of the type referred to which is designed to be cut in such manner as substantially to avoid waste material, and which may be fabricated by relatively unskilled help quickly and expeditiously, thus making for maximum efliciency of production and substantially re duced cost.

Various other objects and advantages will doubtless suggest themselves to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

Brief description of drawings Referring now to the drawings forming a part of this specification and illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention,

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a brief constituting one embodiment of my invention, with parts cut away for added clearness;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the pattern elements for the garment shown in FIGS. 1-5, inclusive, and

FIG. 7 is a schematic fragmentary plan showing the economy of production permitted by my improved design.

Detailed description The numeral 10 designates a main panel comprising a horizontal section 12 which extends across the entire back and sides of the wearer, terminating in the side edges 13, 13 which extend vertically on opposite sides of the abdomen. This panel, as well as the other major elements, is formed preferably of a horizontally stretchable fabric, preferably a Spandex or Lycra.

An abdominal panel 15 is secured to edges 13, 13 by means of relatively narrow, substantially inelastic bands 17, 17.

Secured to the top marginal edges of panels 12 and 15 is the usual longitudinally elastic waistband 20.

Referring to the pattern shown in FIG. 6, it will be noted that main panel 12 is cut to provide relatively short edges 22, 22 substantially parallel to the top edge 23 and waistband 20, adjoining diagonal edges 25, 25 which extend downwardly at an angle of approximately 45 to the vertical, said edges 25, 25 being connected at their lower extremities by a horizontal edge 28 of a width approximating the width of the crotch and being disposed approximately at the crotch of the wearer and below the genitalia.

Thus, the generally triangular panel bounded by the edges 25, 28 and 25 may be said to constitute a buttockscovering section, being so disposed as to overlie the lower portion of the buttocks of the wearer while the generally horizontal panel 12 thereabove overlies the back of the wearer between the waist and the buttocks.

An important feature of my invention consists in the pouch portion 30 of the garment now to be described. This pouch 30, seen on the right-hand side of the pattern assembly shown in FIG. 6, constitutes a double thickness of horizontally elastic fabric similar to that used for panels 12 and 15, and is out as an elongated strip of material and folded over on itself along the line 32. Thus, it constitutes a double thickness of horizontally elastic fabric, offering increased resistance to stretching. The free horizontal edges 35 of strip 30 are attached as by stitching to edge 28 of panel 10, forming seam 35', the upper portion of doubled strip 30 overlapping a lower portion 16 of abdominal strip 15 (FIGS. 1 and 3), the side edges of this area of strip 30 being secured to bands 17.

Disposed within the fold at the upper extremity of pouch 30 in the folded edge 32 thereof, is a longitudinally elastic strip or band 37, which may be a standard elastic strip of approximately one-quarter inch width, the ends of which are attached as by stitching to bands 17, 17.

The lower extremity 18 of abdominal panel 15 is folded over on itself several times, forming three layers of fabric in this instance, without stitching same at the ends, thus making for added comfort.

It will be understood that leg openings are defined by the edges 22 and 25 of the main panel 12 as well as the side edges of the pouch 30, to which edges are attached as by stitching finishing strips or tapes 40, 40.

It also will be understood that, inasmuch as substantially the entire garment is formed of horizontally stretchable fabric, it will snugly adapt itself to the figure and fit comfortably without folds, creases or wrinkles.

The pouch portion of the garment will function effectively to provide the desired support for the genitalia in a much more effective manner than garments of previously known design. As a major feature, the overlapping portions, as seen in section in FIG. 3, will effectively remain closed under all ordinary conditions of body activity, despite violent muscular movement. Furthermore, the slit provided between the overlapping elements between pouch 30 and abdominal panel 15 may readily be opened digitally to provide convenient and comfortable access and egress. Furthermore, when the elements of the slit are released, the parts will quickly and automatically resume their normal position and relationship as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 because of the elasticity of the fabric and action of elastic band 37.

Other expedients may be used to insure that pouch 30 will provide adequate support. Thus, it might be formed of heavier stretchable or resilient fabric than the fabric used for panels 12 and 15, such as Helanca, as used in womens undergarments, instead of using a double thickness of the same fabric as the rest of the garment.

FIG. 6 indicates how the various sections are assembled. Thus, pouch 30 is attached to panel 10 so that edges AB, AB of the pouch will be stitched to edges A'B', AB of the panel, whilesection will be secured to said panel with fold lines AA and A"A" forming fold 18 adjacent the corners A, A of the panel.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the symmetrical design of the pattern makes possible fabrication of garments embodying my invention on a mass-production scale by unskilled labor with a minimum of waste.

Thus, the fabric is provided in the form of tubing 50 from which main panels 10, 10 are cut by severing along the edges 13, 13 and along lines 22, 25, 28, after which the double layer of fabric is opened up as seen dotted, whereby the main panel is ready for further fabrication to complete the garment.

Various changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art; hence, I do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described or uses mentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of my invention being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Underwear brief for a male person, comprising (a) a main panel normally covering the back and lower portion of the buttocks and hips, having side edges and tapering downwardly therebelow to a crotch portion,

(b) an abdominal panel disposed between and secured to said side edges, and

(c) a pouch portion comprising an elongated strip of fabric attached at one end to said crotch portion, the upper portion thereof overlapping the lower portion of said abdominal panel and forming an open passage extending vertically therebetween,

(d) said parts all being horizontally resilient, the pouch having greater stretch resistance than the other portions, whereby it is enabled to provide firm but yielding support to adjacent body parts.

2. A garment as in claim 1, wherein (a) said pouch comprises a double panel of fabric similar to the main abdominal panels, the latter being single ply,

(b) an elastic band being disposed adjacent the upper edge of the pouch for retracting said edge so as to restore the pouch to normal condition after elongation.

3. A garment as in claim 1, wherein the free lower edge of the abdominal panel and the free upper edge of the pouch are spaced to provide overlapping panels defining a slit, permitting convenient access and egress via a vertical passage therethrough.

4. A garment as in claim 1, wherein (a) said main panel is formed of a blank having a horizontal section adapted to cover the lower back, sides of the abdomen and buttocks of the wearer, generally vertical side edges, and diagonal edges extending convergingly downwardly from said side edges at about 45, the lower ends of said diagonal edges being connected by a short, generally horizontal edge about equal to the width of the crotch,

(b) said pouch portion being secured to said short horizontal edge and comprising a double thickness of stretchable fabric similar in character to the other parts of the garment.

5. An undergarment having a horizontal section adapted to cover the small of the back, sides of the abdomen and buttocks of the wearer, said section having a generally horizontal upper edge, generally vertical side edges, and diagonal edges extending convergingly downwardly from said side edges at about 45, the lower ends of said diagonal edges being connected by a short generally horizontal edge about equal to the width of the crotch, said section being symmetrical about a line drawn normally between said short horizontal edge and the upper edge of said section, whereby said section may be cut from a tubular fabric and further fabricated into a brief type of garment after slitting said section along its median line to form said vertical side edges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,621,654 12/1952 Wallace 128l59 3,220,410 11/1965 Sloan.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2--224 (569) CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, 487, 833 Dated January 6, 1970 Inventor(s) KARL E. SENSER It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

[- Colurnn 4, line 9, after "main" insert --and-;

line 4?, insert the following claims;

6. A garment as in Claim 3, wherein the fabric of said garment is horizontally resilient and wherein means is provided at the upper edge of said pouch for resiliently resisting gaping of said edge relative to said abdominal panel.

7. A garment as in Claim 6, wherein said abdominal panel has a free multifolded lower edge.

In the heading to the printed specification, line 7, '-'5 Claims" should read 7 Claims SFGNFD m swim AUG 251970 (SEAL) Attest:

Fletcher, Edward It WILLIAM E. 3- Attostingoffim Gomissionsr of Patents 

